Act 3 of The Wheel of
Time builds on the concept that Rand must not only defeat the Dark One, but
he must also defeat him in exactly the right way, or all is lost.

Rand is absent at first, keeping readers wondering about his
temperament after being locked away in the dungeons of Far Madding. When he tentatively
attempts to stick to the path he must follow, Semirhage’s trickery instead
pushes him down a hardened and bleak path. First she foils his alliance with the
Seanchan, then she compels him to attack a woman he holds dear to his heart,
nearly recreating Lews Therin Kinslayer’s sin.

Rand thus
becomes more and more determined to accomplish his task, alone, with no help
except that which he commands from people. His friends in similar command
situations have been much quicker to realize the limits of what they will do to
achieve their goals or enforce their will on others. Early on, Perrin's
attempts to find and free his wife are stymied by his own realization that if
he doesn’t free her in the right way, she will not accept the man he has
become. Egwene similarly learns that leadership isn’t about occupying the seat
of power, but of representing it, even if she must lead by example from the bottom
rung of the White Tower’s hierarchy.

Rand
falls so far from the path, he even threatens to kill his father rather than
let Cadsuane guide his actions. His descent is frighteningly self-reinforcing.
He loses his conscience, twisting everything Nynaeve says into a means to
deliver a desired end. Only on the verge of destroying the pattern in a fit of
balefire does he consider an alternative to taking responsibility for the acts
of all humanity. Rand’s epiphany atop Dragonmount is driven by recognizing that
what he wants is another chance to get things right. For him, and for all
humanity, mistakes are allowed, and can always be corrected.

Following
this path he doesn’t help Rand bring the armies and rulers of the world to his
cause. It is only when his mentor Moiraine returns that all parties agree to
stand together. Building on this success, Rand meets the Seanchan
Empress and makes concessions which it will be up to others to live with or
overturn. Rand puts his faith in his others and hopes for the best, which is
similar to how he wind the Last Battle.

It still amazes me how the Last Battle hinges on subtle
character traits and choices made by Rand, and how those literally affect the
fate of the world. I do not know of any other story where the personal and
world-spanning consequences are so well intertwined. The ending, or the last
three hundred pages of it, perfectly encapsulates the themes running through
the series, providing logical and fulfilling closure to the series.

Unlike
most stories, all of the major romantic storylines have been fully resolved long
before the story ends. The prize for winning is not a mate or a partner,
but their own identity. The Wheel of Time
has mostly presented obstacles of character, not of contrivance, and once the
heroes have decided on a love interest, there is little that gets in its way.

The earlier focus on magic items has fallen by the wayside in
Act 3. No quests for ter’angreal are
undertaken, they have been replaced by insurmountable quests to change the
minds of profoundly stubborn people.

Somewhat surprisingly, the heavily featured magical elements of Tel’aran’rhiod and balefire do not play
central roles in the mechanics of the Last Battle. Instead, balefire is a
temptation that the heroes reject while Rand demonstrates that the reality-shaping
power of Tel’aran’rhiod is a prize
for staying true to himself.

Following
the earlier comparisons of the series to American History, this final act covers
the modern era, when America considered the use of nuclear weapons in a cold
war standoff. As with Padan Fain’s philosophy, some people’s hate was so strong
they seriously accepted the idea of destroying themselves so long as the
opponent went down first. The question of how far one should go to win, and whether
you lose who you were, continues to be relevant in today’s conflicts.

The obvious bone of contention in Act 3 is Sanderson’s succession
of Jordan, and the sharp contrast in their pacing, level of detail, and the number
of switches in point of view. Sanderson’s style fits the Last Battle very
well, perhaps better than the style which Jordan used throughout the series. The
constraints of Jordan’s notes undoubtedly helped the story maintain its focus
on the prevailing thematic elements; but it is doubtful Sanderson could have
done much to interfere with them given how frequently they recur in the
preceding books. Sanderson succeeds in elevating these elements to a fitting
level of focus, never letting them dominate, never letting them be forgotten.
It is a wonderful balancing act, and worthy of recognition; Sanderson was the right
choice to complete the series not only because of his writing skill, but
because he understands and correctly interprets these themes.

Writing
Lessons:

It is possible to telegraph exactly how your story will
unfold, yet still surprise and delight your audience.